The Spy

Chapter 10 Half a Shoe Print
The cold wind blows through the ancient streets and buildings of Tianjin City, carrying with it the unique coldness of the north.

Xu Qingyun pushed open the wooden door of the newspaper office, and the smell of ink and paper hit him in the face. Several tables were scattered around, and on the noteboard next to the telephone, daily plans were densely written.

"Hello, what do you want to publish in the newspaper?"

Seeing Xu Qingyun, a short and thin man came over and asked. The first floor of the newspaper was their business department. People who came here were either there to publish various advertisements and missing person notices, or they were people who went to the wrong place to submit their articles.

"Have a cigarette first."

Xu Qingyun skillfully took out an exquisite cigarette case from his pocket. The man took the cigarette and showed his yellow teeth eroded by time and tobacco: "Thank you."

After lighting his cigarette, Xu Qingyun got straight to the point and asked, "Hello, I want to ask about the person who posted this missing person notice. He looks a lot like a distant relative of mine."

Cigarettes are a magical thing. They seem to have magical powers that can make people who are not familiar with each other quickly feel close to each other.

After taking a look at the newspaper Xu Qingyun took out, the person at the newspaper nodded: "I remember this. Someone came to publish it urgently yesterday, and I received it."

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

After blowing out a smoke ring, the visitor seemed to be reminiscing and slowly said, "He is not tall, wears glasses, and a gray robe. He is very gentle and looks like a teacher."

"Let's take a step to talk."

Xu Qingyun caught a glimpse of several women in the room. They were looking at him with displeasure, gently pulling the sleeves of the newspaper man, and quietly walking out of the door.

Stepping out of the room, Xu Qingyun handed the cigarette box in his hand to the man.

"I haven't seen this distant relative for many years. Can you tell me about his current situation?"

"Thanks, didn't he leave his address? Didn't you go find him?"

Putting the cigarettes into their pockets, the people in the newspaper office were secretly happy. This kind of good cigarettes was not cheap, so they could be considered to have made a box for free today.

"I went there, but didn't find him. Did he leave any other address?"

There was indeed an address on the missing person notice, but it was a fake address. Xu Qingyun asked Zuo Jinfang to check, but there was no such place.

The newspaper man was slightly startled, then shook his head: "No, he only left this address in the newspaper."

"Did he bring anything with him when he came?"

Xu Qingyun further asked, he was not a policeman in his previous life, but he had worked with the police on many cases and understood that every tiny detail was crucial and could often become the key to solving a case.

"He brought a copy of Yishibao and said that the advertising fee over there was too expensive, so he distributed it here."

Xu Qingyun's guidance made the newspaper people immediately think of a detail: the circulation of "Yi Shi Bao" was larger than that of "Tian Feng Bao", and it was basically impossible to check.

"What else did he do?" Xu Qingyun did not give up and continued to ask.

"He's a heavy smoker, even worse than me. He ran out several times and hid in the corner to enjoy his addiction."

The person yesterday was not as generous as the young man today. He smoked alone and didn't let anyone else have a chance.

Xu Qingyun immediately followed the newspaper man's finger and looked towards the corner of the wall.

"Thank you very much. If he comes again, please give me a call. And please don't tell him. I want to give him a surprise."

Xu Qingyun asked a few more questions about his appearance, then politely escorted him back to the house and wrote down a phone number. As soon as he went out, Xu Qingyun came to the place he had pointed to.

It snowed heavily the night before yesterday when we arrested Hu Qi's men. There was sunshine during the day these two days, but because of the low temperature, not much snow melted.

As soon as Xu Qingyun arrived at the scene, a hint of surprise that was hard to conceal flashed across his eyes. He looked around, and his gaze finally fixed on a few footprints on the ground, which formed a sharp contrast with the messy cigarette butts.

Squatting down, Xu Qingyun carefully observed the footprints. The outlines were slightly blurred and the color was slightly darker than the surrounding ground. The shape, size and depth were consistent, and it was obvious that they were left by the same person.

Unfortunately, due to the melting snow, the intact shape was not maintained, but there is a half-compacted area that is particularly eye-catching. This is the result of the snow melting and being stepped on and frozen.

Even a broken footprint is like a treasure to Xu Qingyun, containing precious clues.

The footprint is from the back half of the leather shoe, which is the right heel. The width of the print is about eight centimeters. By comparison, the length of the shoe is about twenty-five centimeters.

The print is one centimeter deep, with the bevel tilted slightly to the right, and the heel and sole have a spiral pattern.

After observing the shoe prints, Xu Qingyun judged that the shoes were not worn very much and had not been worn for a long time, at most two months, so they were considered a new pair of shoes.

Zheng Jiming was called over and asked to find a camera to take pictures of all the shoe prints, and the cigarette butts on the ground were also picked up.

There is no DNA test now, but at least this is a clue, and Xu Qingyun will not ignore any clue.

The camera was quickly brought over, and after taking the photos, Xu Qingyun returned to the police station.

"Brother Qingyun."

"Squad leader."

As soon as I entered the office, Yi Sheng, Zuo Jinfang and others stood up to greet me. There were four other people, including the flower girl I met in the afternoon. The little girl was curled up in her mother's arms, her eyes flickering with anxiety.
Zuo Jinfang contacted Xu Qingshi, and Wang Jiansheng had already received the news and was rushing over with the painter.

After understanding the situation, Xu Qingyun took the initiative to ask: "Did you scare them? Did you explain it to them clearly?"

Yi Sheng nodded immediately: "Everything has been made clear, but they are still afraid."

In troubled times, there is nothing that ordinary people are not afraid of.

"It's okay. You don't have to be afraid. Someone will ask you questions later. Just answer them truthfully and thoroughly. I guarantee your safety. If you have concerns about me, you should always trust our director."

Xu Qingyun comforted them, saying that Wang Jiansheng had a good reputation, and mentioning him really made the family feel a little more at ease.

In their minds, the police chief is a very important official and his words are final. If the chief really says that they are fine, they really don't need to worry.

Xu Qingyun did not ask any more questions. Since the director came in person, it would not be too late to ask later. Sitting at the desk, Xu Qingyun closed his eyes and thought.

Perhaps he was recalling the shoe prints he had just seen in his mind, constantly piecing together the messy picture. Every detail, every possible connection, gradually took shape in his thinking.
Judging from the shoe prints, the owner's height was between 1.63 and 1.68 meters. Unfortunately, the front part of the shoe prints was missing, otherwise with Xu Qingyun's professional ability, he could have calculated the height more accurately.

This person weighs about 130 pounds, which is a bit fat considering his height.

His image gradually emerged in Xu Qingyun's mind: a man wearing glasses, with short hair that looked energetic, wearing a gray robe and a blue felt hat, with a clean face without any obvious marks.

There are too few clues. If Xu Qingyun could see the same shoe prints again, he could get more information, but too much time has passed and blindly searching for footprints is a sheer waste of time.

The key is the shoes.

(End of this chapter)